No Fairytale
by AndAllThatMishigas
Summary: During The Shutdown, Leo calls Abbey to bring her back to the White House.
Author's Note: I've wanted to explore the relationship between Leo and Abbey for a while, and listening to Taylor Swift in my car (obviously), I came up with this idea.

 **No Fairytale**

Leo blew past Margaret in a rage, ignoring whatever she was trying to tell him about the schedule. He slammed the door to his office behind him. He paced back and forth for a moment before sitting behind his desk, letting his face fall to his hands. He knew what he had to do. It was the only thing he could do. But he really, really didn't want to.

After a deep, cleansing breath, Leo let go as much of his anger as he could and picked up the phone, dialing the number he had known by heart for so long. It rang three times before it was answered.

"Hello?"

She sounded distracted and a little out of breath. Not exactly what he wanted right now. "Hi, Abbey," he said cautiously.

Her tone changed immediately. "Leo," she acknowledged coldly.

There was a pause on the line. He couldn't quite decide if he wanted to just come right out and say it. It was so hard to know with her.

"Just tell me. What does he want?" she asked, cutting through his thought process.

"You gotta come back, Abbey."

In her kitchen in Manchester, Abbey pulled the old corded phone away from the wall so she could sit down at the big scrubbed wood table. "I can't go back there." Just the idea of being back at the White House, the place where she had waited in panic for days for her baby to be returned to her, was too overwhelming to contemplate. It was where Jed had held her in his arms as she sobbed in fear of the worst. Where he had kissed her hair as his own tears fell. Where she had said vicious things to blame him for what happened to Zoey. It was his fault. She had been returned, yes, but he had betrayed their marriage in making those awful decisions that led to her kidnapping. So Abbey would sit in their home, where they had lived happier days and raised their children. She could wrap herself in memories and pretend like Jed was still the man she married.

Leo wouldn't allow that answer. "We need you. _He_ needs you."

She scoffed, "Then why are you calling me instead of him?"

"He knows you don't want to talk to him," Leo replied in a small voice.

"Damn right. But that shouldn't stop him from trying if he needs me so much," Abbey replied bitterly.

And suddenly, Leo understood. "He's not going to chase after you, Abbey. He's not going to show up at the door and wait out in the rain or whatever romance movie crap you think is gonna happen."

"Oh don't be silly," she said dismissively.

"No, I'm serious. Believe me, over the years, I've looked at you two and thought you stepped out of a fairytale or something. You're usually so in sync, and you both like making big romantic gestures, and you're so in love, it's disgusting."

Abbey laughed, but it was a hollow sound. "We might have been like that once, but it's been a while."

"Well, he's the President. We've all made sacrifices."

"Don't you dare tell me about sacrifices, Leo."

"Really? You wanna play that game with me? I'm divorced and my daughter barely speaks to me," he replied angrily.

"Oh no you don't. None of that is because Jed is President. Dammit, Leo, I warned you about Jenny ten years ago!"

He was losing track of the conversation, he could tell. And he couldn't really refute what she said. Leo honestly couldn't even begin to count the number of times Abbey had taken a bottle of scotch away from him and put him in a cab when no one else was looking. Or when she researched and found a list of rehab centers for him. Or when she gave him coffee and locked him in a room and made excuses so Jed wouldn't find out he'd fallen off the wagon again and get upset. Sure, Jed was the one he called when things got really bad, but Abbey always seemed to be there for him before it got to that point. She had probably saved his life more than once. And yes, she had warned him about the toll his work was taking on his marriage and that Jenny wouldn't put up with it forever.

"Even so, you should have known that things would change when he got elected," Leo said, changing the subject back to the point at hand.

"I did know. I do know. Things are different. I get that. Hell, I gave up my medical license for the White House. The Presidency stripped everything from me and it took my daughter away. And it's his fault. He doesn't get to 'need' me again yet," she insisted.

"Abbey, he shut down the government. Do you get that? He's so lost that he stood up to the Speaker of the House and told him _to his face_ to shut down the federal government. I watched it happen!"

She was stunned. "He did what?!"

"It's all over the news. You didn't see?"

"I read the newspaper this morning, but I've been outside with Zoey most of the day. Jesus, Leo, you gotta get a handle on him. Isn't this your job? Isn't this what you've always told me? Don't get involved in the politics, you'll handle it?" she asked acerbically.

He shook his head and exhaled in frustration. "This is different, Abbey. He needs you. He's distracted enough when you're gone on official trips, but having you leave him like this…I don't know. I can't talk to him like this. I don't know what's going on in his head."

"I didn't leave him," she corrected quietly.

"Sure as hell feel like you did. You two haven't even spoken since you left here, have you?"

"I would have answered if he called. And nothing stopped him from coming up here. Well, now I guess he can't. Because it looks like he shut down the government."

Now Leo was getting really annoyed with her cavalier attitude. "I'm not going to say this again! He is the President of the United States. I can't have him come try to win you back because he has a country to run! I can't even have him thinking about _wanting_ to win you back when he has a country to run! He has shut down the government because he is unfocused and unwilling to hear reason right now. He is distracted, and honestly, I'm a little surprised he isn't on a bender right now. I know you two have had fights before, and he's been a pain then, too. But between Zoey and you blaming him for it as much as he blames himself, he's just a shell. I don't think he's sleeping. He's barely eating. Charlie has to remind him what's going on and where he's going every couple minutes. My god, the kid won't let the President out of his sight. He is an absolute mess, Abbey, and for the last time, _he needs you_!"

Abbey listened to Leo's angry tirade and heard every word. She felt sick. He was right. She had wanted him to win her back. He'd done it before. She wanted him to be with her, at their home, where they could rebuild and be happy again. But she hadn't thought of what that would mean. Jed had more important things to do. She always knew that, but it hadn't really fully sunk in this time. Many times in the White House, Jed had wanted to discuss their problems so that he wouldn't be distracted by them, but she hadn't let him; he could give her the attention she and their marriage deserved after he dealt with whatever crisis the nation was facing at that time. But this was different. He clearly couldn't put their problems aside to do his job. Not this time. She should have known. She should have seen. But she had been so hurt and so upset that she'd been blind to what he needed.

"Okay," she said softly.

"What was that?"

"Okay," Abbey told him in a strong voice. "I'll call Liz and my parents to come be with Zoey. Can you send the plane for me? I can be there tomorrow."

Leo breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes. I'll have the plane ready for you tomorrow midday. You'll be here by lunchtime."

"Fine."

"Thank you, Abbey," he said kindly.

"Oh we're not done with this. You and I can have another talk after I get the President squared away."

"Yeah, fine."

"And don't tell him I'm coming. He deserves a little surprise." Her voice had a bitter twinge to it that would make anyone who heard it very, very afraid. The wrath of Abbey Bartlet was not something to be on the receiving end of.

Leo was going to say something else, but Abbey had already hung up. Truth be told, he was mildly terrified of what she would do when she got back to the White House. Just as she had said, everything had been taken from her in one way or another since he had showed up in Concord with a napkin that read Bartlet for America. She had every right to blame him for all her hardship.

But Leo also knew that no one loved so fiercely as Abbey did. She was the strongest women he knew, and she used that strength to give the best to everyone around her. He had been protected by her since the day they met, and he knew she would always love him like that. And once the Bartlets repaired their marriage, they'd be back to that fairytale love story he'd always admired.


End file.
